Student Perspective of Tests

This excellent parent video describes the purposes of Smarter Balanced assessments told from the student perspective about the importance of the Smarter Balanced Summative Test results, and how the new tests will help inform and prepare students for their future. The video was created by Riverside Unified School District. Please click on image below to view.

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has published both a practice and a training tests that provides students, parents, and educational staff a preview of the assessment questions aligned to the Common Core for grades 3-8 and 11 in both ELA and Math. The Smarter Balanced Practice Test allows interested parties to experience a full grade-level assessment and gain insight into how Smarter Balanced will assess students' mastery of the Common Core. Each grade level assessment includes a variety of question types and difficulty. The tests include universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations.

The Smarter Balanced Training Tests are designed to provide students and teachers with opportunities to quickly familiarize themselves with the software and navigational tools that they will experience on the Smarter Balanced Assessments given each spring. The Training Test is organized by grade bands (grades 3-5, 6-8, and high school), not by specific grade levels. The questions on the Training Test were selected to provide students with an opportunity to practice a range of question types. Similar to the Practice Test, the the Training Test includes all embedded universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations.